• Events
• The library - a good place to work and relax
• Literature - and art collections

Public libraries are central and vital places of cultural activity. The stock of a public library is an important foundation, upon which to build the search for knowledge about art and culture and to inspire individual efforts in these fields. During his lifetime, the German writer Heinrich Böll regularly used the StadtBibliothek Köln for his literary pursuits, as today do Dieter Wellershoff and a large number of other artists and authors. This example demonstrates that public libraries stimulate and promote artistic and literary creation.

Events

The StadtBibliothek Köln enriches Cologne’s literary and cultural life through a large programme of activities, putting on over 700 events annually.
Book readings, lectures and exhibitions provide a stimulus to become involved in current developments in literature, art and ideas.

Events on special topics are geared towards the general public’s current information needs, as these can be easily identified and organized.
An information day such as ”Fit for Job”, which is undertaken with skilled outside partners, always generates a lot of visitor interest. In the field of entertainment, the StadtBibliothek Köln often puts on major events. An example are the Kölner Comictage (Cologne Comic Days), which take place regularly and which have gained a reputation throughout the region.

A vital factor in staging events is co-operation with regional institutions such as the Literaturhaus Köln (Cologne Literature House), the bookshops of Cologne, local television stations, broadcasters and local businesses. Sponsorship also has a major role to play.

A presence in the press and before the public as well as the great response from events show that the public library has an important role to play in a city such as Cologne, with its long history of staging major events.

The library - a good place to work and relax

As well as being a lively place for using the library stock, the StadtBibliothek Köln also places great importance on providing enough room to read and work undisturbed. Customers are increasingly coming to expect a pleasant, agreeable atmosphere. To achieve this, the library has comfortable seating and original décor. And of course along with design features, the library must still remain functional. Some work places for example are fitted with lap-top connections so that projects or homework can be written in close proximity to the sources of information used. Even Internet connections are possible thanks to a wireless LAN network.

This is taken a step further in the Media Library. Computer work stations can be found there, ideal for practising and working with the latest word-processing , image and graphics programming. There is also a video-editing station and a place to test CD-ROMs.

Anyone who wants to read the daily papers undisturbed, and prefers to do so over a cup of coffee, can expect to find a wide range of international weekly and daily newspapers in the central library’s cosy coffee shop.

Service is further enhanced by a bookshop. The bookshop rounds off perfectly the complete information service. Moreover running a retail outlet generates revenue.

The StadtBibliothek Köln plays a vital role as a social meeting and communication point with an international atmosphere. Cologne has residents from many different countries. Surveys have revealed that the clientèle of the public library comes from 64 different nations.

”The Kölner Stadtbibliothek - and more specifically the branch closest to where I live in Haus Balchem - has for decades been an indispensable aid to me in my work as an author. Changing, but invariably friendly staff have, with great charm and expertise, always helped me find the books I needed for my literary and essay-writing work.”
Dieter Wellershoff

Literature and art collections

Germania Judaica, the Cologne library for the history of German Judaism, was set up as a private organization on the initiative of the citizens of Cologne, amongst them Heinrich Böll. Since 1979 it has been a guest of the central library, supported by the Cologne city and university libraries. Germania Judaica now owns Europe’s largest collection of material on the subject of German Judaism. It serves as a scholarly special library, not only for the people of Cologne, but also for researchers throughout the world.
Germania Judaica bears witness to the history and culture of German Judaism which was annihilated, in order to avoid ignorance and prejudice in future generations.

The Heinrich Böll Archive is the central documentation and information centre covering the life and work of the author Heinrich Böll.

”A poet must first be dead...”, wrote Hans Rudolf Hartung shortly after visiting Heinrich Böll in 1974. He regretted the fact that nobody in Germany was then caring for Böll’s work, with all his original papers being collected in Boston. This stimulated the StadtBibliothek Köln into founding the Heinrich Böll Archive. Since 1979, in association with the Cologne city archives, the archive for the legacy of Heinrich Böll, and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (Heinrich Böll Foundation), all documents by and about Heinrich Böll have been collected.

Comprehensive databases give the general public access to the collections. Another aspect of the Archive is to promote the life and work of Heinrich Böll to the world. To this end an exhibition was developed, where some 300 exhibits by and about Heinrich Böll are displayed on 40 panels. These have been exhibited in over 60 countries.

A major highlight of current international research efforts is the preparation of the complete works of Heinrich Böll, in 27 volumes and complete with a critical commentary.

The LiK-Archiv (Literature in Cologne Archive) is a documentation and information centre for Cologne’s literary life - both from a historical and contemporary perspective. Since the beginning of the 1980s, literature by and about some 800 Cologne authors has been collected, developed and made accessible.

The LiK-Archiv works closely with Cologne’s resident authors. This includes, in collaboration with the Cologne city archives, securing and conserving the archives and papers of important authors such as: Hans Bender, Hans Mayer, Paul Schallück, Dieter Wellershoff. The collection of the LiK-Archiv is integrated into the general library catalogue and therefore can also be searched over the Internet.

In addition the LiK-Archiv acts as a literary agency. It offers assistance to authors, acts as a contact point for young writers and provides information about contacts, publications and sponsorship. The LiK-Archiv is also well known for its literary exhibitions and functions.

The Kasimir Hagen Collection is an important private collection with over 100 works of art dating from the middle ages to the nineteenth century. The collection was gifted to the City of Cologne by art collector Kasimir Hagen, who lived from 1887 to 1965. Hagen’s interests were not in the first rank of top-line pieces, but rather in ferreting out hidden treasures from everyday life, for example household items through the centuries.
Kasimir Hagen also had an eye for modern artists, who were still misunderstood, and he had the courage to promote the work of young artists such as Max Ernst. The collection contains, among other things, a portrait of Hagen painted by his friend Anton Räderscheidt. The collection is located in the Chorweiler branch library.

The collection contains, among other things, a portrait of Hagen painted by his friend Anton Räderscheidt.

”The passion with which a person can crave a certain book and then lose himself in it proves that reading is a process of the highest intellectual order.”
(Heinrich Böll, 4.3.1959)